Device for positioning shuttles in looms.



J. WH ITTAKER, R. BRADSHAW & J. BRIGGS. I

DEVICE FOR POSITIONING SHUTTLES IN LOOMS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. IB. I9II.

1,149,484. Patented Aug. 10, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

v) I I I J &

uJLumBlA PLANCIBRAPH C0., WASHINGTON. D. c.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 13- 19H.

Patented Aug.- 10, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

L W W COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH 110., WASHING-MN. D. c.

ran a NT. FIG.

JOHN WHITTAKEB, RICHARD BRADSHAW, AND JOSEPH BRIGGS, OF RISHTON, NEAR BLACKBURN, ENGLAND.

DEVICE FOR POSITIONING SHUTTLES IN LOOlVIS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 10, 1915.

Application filed hecember 18, 1911. Serial No. 666,362.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JOHN VVHITTAKER, RICHARD BRADSHAW, and Josnrrr Bnroos, subjects of the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and residing at WVellington Mill, Rishton, near Blackburn, in the county of Lancaster, England, have invented new and useful Improvementsin and Connected with Devices for Positioning Shuttles in Looms, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to apparatus for 10- cating a shuttle in its correct position in the shuttle box, and more particularly to that type of shuttle-ppsitioning apparatus in which an arm pivoted to the breast-beam or other suitable fixed part of the loom, en ters the path of the shuttle on the forward movement of the slay, and is moved about its pivot to position the shuttle by a projection on the slay only on failure of weft, the arm being able to telescope if struck by the side of the shuttle. It relates also to means for operating such apparatus.

Our invention consists, firstly, in improvements in the above mentioned type of shuttle positioning device, and secondly, in a device which acts to prevent the normal operation of the arm when this is struck by the side of the shuttle, and thirdly, in a device which acts to prevent the operation of the weft-replenishing mechanism of automatic weft-replenishing looms when the arm is unable to position the shuttle by reason of the side of the shuttle striking it.

In the annexed drawings, which show two forms of our invention :-Figure 1 is a plan view showing our apparatus fixed to the breast-beam of a loom, together with other cooperating devices. Fig. 2 is an end view thereof. Fig. 3 is a view thereof from the back of the loom, but showingparts thereof in vertical section taken on the-line 33 of Fig. 2. Fig. 3 is a view from the back of the loom of one end of a detached portion of the apparatus. Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are views of a modified form of the device similar to Figs. 1, 2 and 3 respectively, the plane of the section represented in Fig. 6, being that indicated by the line 66 of Fig. 5.

The invention is shown fitted to the righthand shuttle'box of a loom in conjunction with automatic weft-replenishing mechanlsm. e 1

In the following description, the terms. right and left refer to the right and left as viewed by an operator standing in front of and facing, the loom, not to those of an observer looking at the drawings, and the description deals with the device as when mounted at the right-hand of the loom.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the bellcrank lever 2, is pivoted at 3 to the breast- :beam 1 of the loom, and has two arms at and 5. The arm 5 has an extension piece 6 which comes into the path of the point of .the shuttle 7 when the slay 8 is in its forward position. The lever 2 is in such a position on the breast-beam that the piece 6 is a little to the left of the position which the left-hand end of the shuttle should occupy. A block 9, capable of sliding on the shaft 10, Fig. 3 is separated from the arm 4, by abar 11 and carries a pin 12 which can slide in the block. In the drawings the block 9 is shown in the position in which the shuttle-positioning device is out of operation. IVhen the block is slid to the right, the pin 12 is opposite to a hunter 13 on the slay 8, and, when the slay moves forward, the hunter 13, strikes the pin 12, which bears against the bar 11, and pushes the arm 4 forward. The other arm 5 of the lever 2, with extension 6, therefore moves to the right, and, in so doing, pushes the shuttle into its proper position if it has not reached this position. The position to which the arm pushes the shuttle, can be determined by adjusting the length of the bunter 13. The lever 2 is returned to its normal position by a spring (not shown). If, now, the shuttle 7 comes to rest in a position so far short of its correct position that a portion of the shuttle remains opposite to the arm 5, theslay b, in moving forward, will cause the shuttle to strike the end of the piece 6 instead of passing to the right of it, and may thereby damage the device or the shuttle. To avoid this, the piece 6 is made capable of sliding forward in the arm 5, being kept normally in its backward position by a compression spring (shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1) encircling a rod 14 attached to the piece 6. If, then, the shuttle 7 strikes the end of the piece 6 on the forward movement of the slay, the said piece telescopes into the arm 5 and no damage is done. If, however, the positioning device is actuated while the shuttle is pressing against the end of the piece 6 the arm 5 cannot easily make its positioning movement to the right, and damage may result from the arm 4 being pushed forward. We therefore provide another device actuated by the telescoping of the piece 6 which prevents the forward movement of the slay 8 from pushing the arm 4 forward. The bar 11 is capable of sliding endwise on the face of the arm 4, and both the bar and the arm are provided with holes 15 and 16 respectively, through which the pin 12 can pass. The hole 16 in the arm 4 is in register with the pin 12 when the latter is in position to be struck by the bunter 13 to actuate the said arm. In the normal position of the bar 11 (that shown in the drawings) the holes 15 and 16 are not in register, so that the pin cannot enter the hole 16 in the arm 4. If, however, the bar 11 be moved to .the left till the holes 15 and 16 are in mg ister, the pin 12, on being pushed forward by the bunter 13, will pass through the two holes instead of pushing the arm 4 forward to position the shuttle. The bar 11 is moved to bring the hole 15 into register with the hole 16, by the telescoping action of the piece 6 in the following way :A plate 17 is attached to the piece 6 and rod 14, and has formed on it a cam surface 18 which engages with a projection on the bar 11. By means of this cam surface, the plate 17 on the forward motion of the piece 6, moves the bar 11 to the left to register the hole 15 with the hole 16 and thereby, as previously described, serves to prevent the turning of the lever 2. The bar 11, after operation by the cam 18, is returned to its normal position in which it covers the hole 16, by a spring (not shown).

The apparatus as shown in the drawings is arranged to operate only when a cop has to be transferred into the shuttle 7 by the weft-replenishing mechanism, which latter is brought into operation on failure of weft. The rod 19 is moved to the right on failure of weft by mechanism connected with the weft-fork motion of the loom, such as is described in application for patent bearing Serial No. 635,624. This rod is attached to the block 9 sliding on the shaft 10, and a fork 20, fixed to the block 9, engages in a groove in the boss of the sliding bunter arm 21, by means of which the transferrer is operated by the forward movement of the slay 8. On failure of weft therefore, the block 9 is moved to the right, and determines the operation of the shuttle-positioning device, and, at the same time, the bunter arm 21 is also moved to the right so as to come opposite to a bunter 22 011 the slay 8, which engages with the bunter arm 21 to operate the transferrer, as in application bearing Serial No. 635,624.

In cases where the cop-changing or other mechanism must be prevented from operating when the shuttle is not in its correct position, we cause the telescoping movement of the piece 6 to prevent its operation as follows :The bar 11 has at its right-hand end, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, a projection 35 formed with a cam surface on its under side. This cam surface engages with a projection 36 attached to the boss of the bunter arm 21, so that, when the bar 11 is moved to the left, the cam surface on the projection 35 presses downward the projection 36 and raises the bunter arm 21 so that it is not struck by the bunter. 22 to op erate the weft replenishing mechanism.

A bracket 23, fixed to the breast-beam 1, supports the shaft 10.

In the modified form of device shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6, parts which correspond to parts in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 bear the same reference numbers and will not be further described. The rod 19 slides in a hole in the shaft 10, and the shaft 10 can turn about the rod. Instead of being supported in this way, the rod 19 may be supported by a bracket fixed to the breast-beam 1. A cylindrical piece 24, with two projections 25 and 26, turns freely on the rod 19; and is pushed toward the right, 2'. 6., the top of Figs. 4 and 6, along with that rod by a collar 27 fixed to the said rod. A block 28 .is fixed to the rod 14 and is arranged to engage with the projection 26 so that when the rod 14 is pushed forward by its extension 6 coming against the shuttle 7, the block 28 moves the projection 26 with it and turns the piece 24 about the rod 19. The piece 24 may be returned to its normal position either by a spring or by the block 28 having an extension to engage the other side of the projection 26. A lever 29 pivoted to the arm 4 at 30, is engaged by the bunter 13 when in the position shown in the drawings, and takes the place of the pin 12 in the device represented in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. A second lever 31 is pivoted to the breast-beam at and carries the fork 20 which engages with the groove in the boss of the sliding bunter arm 21 of the transferrer mechanism.

The lever 31 bears against the lever 29, and the tension spring 33 attached to the lever 31 tends to pull both levers toward the left, 2'. 0., the bottom of Figs. 4 and 6. The position of the two levers 29, 31 is determined by the projection 25 against which bears the lever 29. When the rod 19 is moved to the right on failureof weft, the projection 25 is moved to the position shown in the drawings, bringing the lever 29 into position to be struck by the hunter 13, so that the lever 2 is actuated to position the shuttle, and moving the lever 31 to bring the bunter arm 21 into the path of the hunter 22 to operate the transferrer mechanism. \Vhen the rod 19 is moved back, thelevers 29, 31, move back with it under the action of the spring 33, putting the transferrer mechanism out of action and moving .the lever 29 into a position in which it is clear of the bunter 13, so that the lever 2 is not actuated. A stop 34 prevents the lever 29 from moving too far to the left. If, now, when the rod 19 is moved to the right to change a cop and to position the shuttle 7, the shuttle is so far from its correct position that it fouls the piece 6, this latter is pressed forward on the forward motion of the slay 8, and the block 28 engaging with the projection 26, turns the piece 24 with the projection 25,thus moving the latter out of the path of the lever 29, which, together with the lever 31, returns leftward to its normal position. In this arrangement it will be seen that no part operates except when the rod 19 moves on failure of the weft, and that, if, when the rod 19 is so moved, the shuttle 7 is too far out of its correct position, neither the shuttle positioning nor the cop-changing mechanism is actuated.

We do not confine ourselves to the devices described in connection with the pin 12 or the lever 29 for determining the operation of the shuttle-positioning device, as the construction of these and the other parts of our apparatus may be varied without departing from our invention.

The most suitable form of the device must depend on the nature of the device actuated by the weft-stop motion, and that actuating the cop-changing or other mechanism.

Having described our invention, we declare that what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In a shuttle-positioning device for looms, the combination with a telescopic arm forming part of a bell crank lever pivoted to the loom, a projection on the slay, and an intermediate piece interposed by the weft-fork motion on failure of weft between the said projection and the other arm of the bell crank lever, whereby the latter is moved by the said projection, of means actuated by the telescopic action of the arm adapted to prevent a shuttle-positioning movement of the said arm.

2. In a shuttle-positioning device for looms, the combination of a telescopic arm forming part of a bell-crank lever pivoted to the loom, a bar in sliding connection with the other arm of the said lever, a projection on theslay adapted to act on the said bar, and thereby turn the bell-crank lever on its pivot, a weft-fork motion device actuated on failure of weft, and an intermediate piece interposed by the weft-fork motion device when so actuated, between the projection and the bar.

3. In a shuttle-positioning device for looms, the combination of a telescopic arm forming part of a bell-crank lever pivoted to the loom one member of this arm adapted to be telescoped relatively to the other by the shuttle on the slay, a cam on this telescoping member, a bar in sliding connection with the other arm of the bell-crank lever, a projection on the slay adapted to act on the said bar, and thereby turn the bell-crank lever on its pivot, a weft-fork motion device actuated on failure of weft, an intermediate piece moved by the weft-fork motion device when so actuated, into the path of the projection, and means controlled by the cam adapted to move the bar so that it shall not be actuated by the projection.

4. In a shuttle-positioning device for looms, the combination of a bell-crank lever pivoted to the loom, one arm of which is telescopic, a weft-fork motion device, a pin movable with the said device, a hunter on the slay adapted to engage the said pin, the other arm of the bell-crank lever having a hole extending through it from front to rear, a bar movable on this other arm, which in its normal position, prevents the pin from entering the hole when engaged by the hunter, the bar having a hole capable of being alined with the hole in the lever arm, and means on the telescopic arm adapted to move the bar to effect the said alinement.

5. In a shuttle-positioning device for looms, the combination of a bell-crank lever pivoted to the loom, one arm of which is telescopic, a weft-fork motion device, ,a pin movable with the said device, a hunter on the slay adapted to engage the said pin, the other arm of-the bell-crank lever having a hole extending through it from front to rear, a bar movable on this other arm, which in its normal position, prevents the pin from entering the hole when engaged by the hunter, the bar having a hole capable of being alined with the hole in the lever arm, means on the telescopic arm adapted to move the bar to effect the said alinement, and means operatively connected to the weft-fork motion device and to the pin, to bring the latter into alinement with the hole in the lever arm.

6. In a loom, the combination with weftreplenishing apparatus, of a bell-crank lever pivoted to the loom, one arm of which 1s telescopic, the other arm having a hole extending through it from front to rear, a bar 7 In Witness whereof We have hereunto set movable on this other arm and having a our hands in the presence of two Witnesses. hole capable. of being alined with the hole in the lever arm, a Weft-fork motion device, JOHN WHITTAKER.

5 a block operatively connected to the last- RICHARD BRADSHAWV.

named device so as to be moved by it on JOSEPH BRIGGS. failure of Weft, a pin movable in the block,

and a hunter on the slay adapted to engage Witnesses: the pin when the latter is moved into its GERALD POOLE, l0 path on failure of Weft. ALFRED NOEL COOPER.

Copies of this patent ma; be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

